THE R. O. T. C. NEXT YEAR

NO WRITER ATTRIBUTED
May 7, 1918

The statement, in the first edition of the courses of instruction for 1918-19 to the effect that hereafter all students who take military science and tactics must also enroll in the Harvard Regiment, is an announcement that has been unheralded, yet it is of great consequence. It means that the Faculty will next year increase the work in the military courses. It means that the R. O. T. C. will in the future be still more effective as a depot for the preparation of men for commissions.

At first glance this seems to be an arrangement identical with that which has existed this past winter. But there is in fact a substantial difference. This year the theoretical and practical work in military science has been combined in a single course; next year the two phases of work will be distinct with as much time devoted to the former as is now given to both. The change here is important. For this year the military schedule has seemed somewhat haphazard. In 1918-19, however, the time to be given to recitations, reading, lectures, and similar exercises will be constant throughout the year.

When Yale announced several months ago that the Faculty had made a substantial increase in the number of hours that would be devoted to military training, certain press comments intimated that Yale was thereby doing more towards winning the war than the University. Publicity was given to the increase at Yale, and Harvard was supposed by some to be falling below the Eli standard.

But next year's schedule of training for the University R. O. T. C. will quell any fears in this regard. It is a source of gratification that Harvard's plans for more military work now equal, in the matter of time devoted to drills, the plans at New Haven. It is a source of greater satisfaction that the Harvard Faculty plans next year to increase the effectiveness of the Harvard unit as an officers' training corps.